Insafe Weekly Update

The European Commission, through the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) Unit F4, has launched a “Study on monitoring app store ecosystems under the Digital Services Act under Framework Contract CNECT/2022/OP/0036”. The study is conducted by a consortium led by Wavestone in collaboration with Intellera.

The primary objective of this study is to support the Commission in fulfilling its monitoring and enforcement duties as the main authority responsible for ensuring compliance with Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. This regulation applies to very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs) concerning designated app stores.

To this end, the study will provide the EC with an analysis and mapping of the design, service, and business models of the ecosystems of app stores designated as VLOPs, including the functioning of their services and related systems, as well as the use made of these services. It will support the EC in better understanding the emerging trends in the distribution of illegal and harmful content on app stores, as well as the role played by recommender systems and advertising on selected platforms.

The survey takes approximately 40 minutes to complete and covers topics including:

• Perspectives on age assurance methods put in place by app stores and the role of third-party providers.
• Insights on age assurance implementation in the context of app stores.
• Observed experiences of parents and minors, including challenges and areas of concern.
• Feedback on common circumvention techniques.

SICs are invited to respond to the online survey and also share it with any relevant contacts and networks.

"Unpacking the Truth" is a new educational game designed to tackle disinformation head-on. Produced by the Publications Office of the EU and the European Commission Representation in Luxembourg, this interactive classroom activity empowers students aged 16 to 18 with critical thinking and fact-checking skills. Dive into a fictional social media post and navigate the world of false claims with the guidance of captivating EU-themed characters. Through engaging gameplay, students will learn to use EU resources to debunk disinformation effectively. The resource is currently available in EN and FR.

Assessment platform submissions will be due at the end of this month for helplines and hotlines reporting on the second quarter of 2025 (April to June inclusive). The deadline for both helpline and hotline submissions will be the close of business on Friday, 11 July 2025. 

The Excel template for helplines is now available in the BIK community (login first). A reminder that the Good practice guide on helpline data (March 2023) can also be accessed in the BIK community. For further information, please contact Karl (helplines). 

The Excel template for hotlines is now available in the BIK community (login first). Please contact Abby (INHOPE) for any queries regarding hotline submissions. 

Please remember that these submissions must be made using the assessment platform in the new BIK community. In case of issues accessing the platform, or if you need to assign reporting permissions to new/different staff members, please contact the BIK support mailbox.

Many thanks to everyone who attended the recent early warning meeting. You can find a report from the meeting (and a link to the recording) in the BIK community (login first).

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, 30 July 2025 at 11:00 CEST; join the meeting using this link. Please remember it is possible to use the Teams chat to share any information between meetings. 

Please contact Karl for any further information on helpline early warning meetings.

The next early warning meeting for awareness centres will take place on Monday, 30 June 2025, at 11:00 CEST; use this link to join the meeting. Please contact Karl for any further information.

There will be an online meeting with colleagues from Sony on Thursday, 3 July 2025 at 14:00 CEST. The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear about Sony’s work on online safety and how their systems work. There will also be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Join the meeting using this link. If you have any specific questions or suggestions for areas you would like them to focus on, please contact Karl.

An online meeting will take place on Thursday, 10 July 2025 at 11:00 CEST to showcase the VUĊI (Valuing and Understanding Children’s Impact) Toolkit, which has been developed by colleagues in Malta to measure the impact of child participation on children, adults and policymaking. Sue, who many of you know from the Maltese SIC, will present the toolkit and share some thoughts on how it can be used. You can read more about the project and access the toolkit (in English) here. Use this link to join the meeting; for further information, please contact Karl.  

The next Insafe training meeting will take place online on the mornings of 14, 15 and 16 October 2025; the meeting will run from 10:00 CEST until 13:00 CEST on all three mornings. Further information will be shared in the coming weeks, but please already save the dates in your calendars. For further information, please contact Karl.

This week, an Insafe delegation, comprising the Insafe coordinator and SICs from Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, and the UK, is attending the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway.

Throughout the week, the delegation will host a promotional booth in the IGF Village, featuring an interactive Polaroid campaign to promote the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) initiative and the Safer Internet Day (SID) 2026 celebrations.

In addition, on Wednesday, 25 June, from 10:45 to 12:15 CEST, the delegation will co-host a workshop in collaboration with the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), focusing on protecting children from online sexual exploitation.

For more information about the IGF, please visit the official IGF website or the host country’s IGF page. For additional questions, please contact Sabrina.

The Dutch Safer Internet Centre is launching a campaign, End the hate game, featuring Dutch game influencers and Ouassima (from the SIC), who will discuss toxicity in games, share their personal experiences, and explore strategies for mitigating toxicity in gaming communities. This will be streamed on Twitch (in Dutch). You can join at any of the times listed below:

• Monday, 23 June 2025, 19:00 CEST 
  Host: Sejecem – www.twitch.tv/sejecem
  Co-host: Lostygirl
  Guests: Puxque & Morrog
  
  
• Wednesday, 25 June 2025, 20:00 CEST
  Host: Fems – www.twitch.tv/fems
  Co-host: Lostygirl
  Guests: Saar & Duncan
  
  
• Thursday, 26 June 2025, 20:00 CEST
  Host: Altijdmelvin – www.twitch.tv/altijdmelvin
  Co-host: Lostygirl
  Guests: Diamantjewel & Serpent

• Insafe network spotlights child online safety at IGF 2025
• Croatia celebrates the first anniversary of the counselling centre in Zagreb with the launch of the "Take It Down" tool (SIC HR)
• Children’s online habits in Greece: 2025 nationwide survey explores challenges in implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA) (SIC GR)

Access the full BIK news article archive here.

Please contact the BIK content mailbox with any article submissions or in case of any queries.

Recently published items include:

• Helpline early warning meeting - June 2025 

Other reports from online meetings for awareness centres and helplines are now available in the BIK community.

Need help with the BIK platform?
Please refer to the BIK platform user guides for support with regular tasks (such as resource and helpline case study uploads).

Alternatively, we are happy to schedule short online support calls at any time. Please use the contact form on the BIK platform or contact the BIK support mailbox initially, and we will schedule a call at a mutually convenient time.

Please note the updated URLs for the new BIK platform:

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK):
  better-internet-for-kids. europa.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• BIK strategy (BIK+):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/bik/bik-plus-strategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/sif; #SIF2024; #SIF2025; #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Knowledge hub:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/knowledge-hub; #BIKPolicyMap
• BIK Youth:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/bik-youth; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Safer Internet Day (SID):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/saferinternetday; #SaferInternetDay; #SID2025; #SID2026
• Media literacy campaign:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/media-smart-online; #MediaSmartOnline
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids